A popular club figure who had worked in almost every department at Aston Villa across eight decades died aged 96 on Thursday.

Jack Watts was praised by former chairman Doug Ellis for his dedication which saw him operate the Holte End the scoreboard, sweep the stadium on Sunday mornings, lead tours of Villa Park, and play host to guests of Randy Lerner.

He said: “He was a very good friend and a great supporter of mine for many years.

“When there was something negative written about me in the paper he would complain. He was a good old timer.

“He did the scoreboards many years ago until they went electronic and then for a long time carried out tours of the stadium. There was not much he did not do. He was a bit of a legend.

“He was totally and utterly Villa too. From the time he was three years old he used to sneak in under the turnstyles.”

Photos of Aston Villa stalwart Jack Watts, who has died aged 96

Mr Watts was just four when taken to his first game at Villa Park by his brother, Ted.

His 34-year career operating the Holte End scoreboards began after leaving the army in 1946, and only ended after the introduction of electronic scoreboards in 1981.

Prior to joining Villa, Mr Watts was wounded in Dunkirk.

Invited to the post by then-neighbour, defender Mush Callaghan, he updated scores by changing metal number plates - although once dropped one on a fan in the crowds below.

He told the club last year: “Can you imagine it? Oh dear, I’m thinking. What’s going to happen here? If the fellow sues the club it’s going to be for thousands of pounds, so that’s the sack for me straight away!

“But the biggest coincidence of all was that out of 64,000 in the ground, the fellow it hit happened to be a relation of Mush Callaghan’s and one of my old football partners, a chap called Martin Moore.